Tikki, claws out!
by PerditaAlottachocolate
Summary: When Marinette accidentally utters Chat Noir's transformation spell things get messy. Long story short Marinette can no longer transform into Ladybug, Chat Noire is her only option now. As a consequence Adrien gets reassigned, no longer Chat, but suddenly able to transform into… Laddiebug. Kwami swap, a sequel to "The Party".
1. No such luck

_Author's Note: This is a sequel to another story of mine – "The Party". You probably do not need to read that one to enjoy this one, although it would make some things more understandable. Also I was told "The Party" was a rather good piece of fanfiction, so…_

 _Anyway… Do you remember the ending of Chapter 11 "The closet" from that story? When after her sassy comeback to Adrien's downpour of puns Plagg states he likes Marinette and jokingly asks Tikki to swap holders? JustAnotherCuriousKat from AO3 – suggested a kwami swap scene in their comment, and I was struck on the spot with inspiration. This is the result. So any complains go to CuriousKat ;P_

 _Just kidding, this is all on me xD_

* * *

 **Chapter 1. No such luck**

It was really nobody's fault, although Plagg of course blamed his charge.

Adrien and Marinette were getting accustomed to the post reveal reality, and despite their best intentions things still were a little (okay, _a lot)_ awkward, especially out of suits and without any imminent threats that required flawless teamwork. Ladybug and Chat Noir were good at teamwork. Extremely good. But it went as far as akumas were considered. Other than that Marinette and Adrien sucked at being together (at least according to Plagg).

Currently their relationship was stuck somewhere between classmates, teammates, friends and 'something more'. Some promises and declarations were made, hands were held meaningfully, hugs and shy pecks on cheeks were exchanged. And even though the two of them were making progress, it was painfully slow, awkward and – if someone would bother to ask Plagg – sickeningly saccharine.

It was the first time after the fateful party when Marinette and Adrien actually both had time outside of suits just to hang out at Marinette's – only the two of them, not doing anything in particular (Adrien stressed countless number of times, that it was definitely _not_ a date, no matter what Plagg said). Marinette (who as Adrien declared countless number of times, was definitely _not_ his girlfriend, no matter what Plagg said) was working on her newest design, Tikki dozed off on the loft bed and Plagg was keeping her company and munching on a piece of cheesecake.

Adrien however was getting restless, pacing around Marinette's room and thinking out loud about quantum magic. He had that strange idea that they should explore all the possibilities of that branch to make more of their transformations, and to cooperate better, knowing what the other one was capable of. Secretly he was thrilled to finally have someone other that Plagg to talk about miraculouses, secret identities and such.

This time Plagg listened intently to Adrien's antics. Somehow he was having a bad feeling about this. He nudged Tikki but she was fast asleep and snoring. The little cat turned his ears to his Chosen.

Adrien was telling Marinette about his own transformation, switching between drowning her with words and shooting questions at her. Soon the girl tuned him out, focused mostly on her sewing. To keep the conversation going she randomly hummed or echoed his words.

'So, if I want to transform I have to address Plagg by name, right? You do the same with Tikki?'

'Mhm.' Marinette hummed noncommittaly.

'But I can use a few wordings, like different versions of 'transform'.' Adrien was explaining the obvious.

'Yup, different versions.'

'There's also a separate command about drawing claws,' To Plagg's relief his charge purposefully avoided the correct wording not to trigger his transformation at the moment.

'Claws? What do you say then?'

'I can't tell you now or I'll transform,' Adrien chuckled.

'Right, right. Um, sorry,' Marinette also gave a little laugh. 'Can you write it down, tough? I'm just curious,' she added.

'Well, my Lady. They say curiosity killed the cat,' Adrien replied with a wink as he took a piece of paper and a pencil from her desk. 'But since you're not a cat, I guess there's no harm in that.'

And before Plagg was able to swallow the piece of cheesecake in his mouth and explain the importance of keeping the transformation spell a secret, Marinette was already looking at the correct wording.

'Adrien, no!' Plagg launched himself from his spot on the loft bed. 'Marinette, DO NOT read that!' he yelled, at the same moment as the girl zeroed her gaze on the words and read the spell, wondering how it would roll off her tongue.

' _Plagg… claws… out…_ ~'

In an instant a green glow appeared around her earrings. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed a black blur approaching her with high velocity and heard Plagg screaming his lungs out.

'Noooo! Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit!' the black kwami yelled as he was dragged through the room and sucked inside Marinette's earrings. Greenish light engulfed her body from head to toe. Adrien watched in horror as she stumbled backwards surrounded by the miraculous glow and toppled over her chaise lounge with a loud crash.

'Marinette!' he cried and rushed to help her up. A black glove caught his extended hand and Chat Noire emerged from behind the chaise, extremely confused.

Her suit looked exactly like Chat's – the tail swooshed behind her back, the cat ears dropped in embarrassment. The baton was resting on her lower back. But there was no ring on her right hand – she had the earrings instead. They were black, with green paw-prints on them. Her dark hair were still split into pigtails, held with electric-green ribbons, and her now cattish eyes glowed sapphire instead of emerald.

'Wow!' Adrien exclaimed. He circled the black clad girl to take a better look. 'Woooow!' he whispered once again in awe. Mari was right at the party – that look really was great on her. Suddenly the room was really hot and stuffy. Adrien had to sit down.

'A-adrien. How the hell has this happened?!' Marinette groaned looking at her body in black suit. 'Am I a cat now?!'

'Oh, yessss,' was all that Adrien's brain was able to conjure up. 'You look… you look just… woooow…'

'Um, thank you?' Marinette blushed but she felt really flattered. She approached Adrien swinging her tail with her hand and swaying her hips in such way, that Adrien was sure he was going to pass out. He was mesmerized. He was entranced, the vision of Marinette in tight black suit filling all his world. The coy smile she was giving him reduced him to a smitten kitten. And that was exactly the reason why he did what he did.

'I can't believe it! You just said it, and whoosh, you're Chat Noire!'

'I know, Adrien. I was there,' Marinette chuckled amused with his excitement.

'I mean, who would have thought!? So, do you think I will transform into Laddiebug if I say " _Tikki, spots on_ "? ~…'

It was supposed to be a joke. But with a stroke of bad-luck he got that one just right. As soon as Adrien voiced the spell, he felt a strange pull in his ring finger. His miraculous glowed red and he heard Tikki's confused voice mumbling 'Wha… hapn'g…?' while she soared towards him from the bed in a red haze. At the last moment she caught the side of the chaise trying not to be sucked into the ring. 'Oh, nooooooo!' she wailed as she lost her grip and vanished inside the miraculous.

Instantly a reddish light swept over Adrien and when it faded away… there stood Laddiebug, in his red suit with black dots, with a red mask on his face and a yoyo at his hip. The thatch of blond hair was still there, though it grew a little now covering his ears. No earrings on him, but his ring was now red, with five black dots, where previously the paw-print had been.

The boy took a dive to the mirror but soon sighed in disappointment.

'No pigtails,' he complained. 'I was counting on the pigtails.'

Chat approached the mirror herself, inspecting their reflection.

'Well, this is interesting,' she snickered putting her elbow on Bug's shoulder. 'I don't want to be anywhere near our kwami when you explain all that to them.'

'Huh!?' Adrien gasped in mock hurt. 'As far as I recall it was you, who caused this mess. But hey, you won't hear Ladybug's number one fan complaining about this,' he gestured to his attire. 'You know, we look even better than at the party!?'

'I told you that suit should've been mine, Bug,' Marinette tapped Adrien slightly on the nose and he in turn rang the bell under her chin.

'Like I said, you won't find me complaining,' he countered eyeing her suit with a shameless grin.

'Oh my god, how could I ever think it was Plagg's influence! You're just incorrigible flirt!' Marinette nudged him in the ribs.

'Only with you, _Mon Minou_. Only with you!' Adrien murmured playfully. He took her hand and brushed it lightly with his lips not for one moment breaking eye contact.

A strange sound reverberated in Chat's throat. Her eyes widened and she covered her mouth with her other hand.

Adrien raised a brow, mirth written all over his face. 'Was that a…?'

'No, it wasn't!' Marinette's denial came out slightly muffled as her mouth was still covered.

The boy gave a little chuckle and gently stroked her hand with his thumb eliciting another vibrant sound from her.

'Yes, it was!' he exclaimed. 'You're purring, _Mon Minou_!'

Yet before Marinette could die of embarrassment both the ring and the earrings gave a warning beep, prompting them to drop the transformation.

* * *

'You broke it!' Plagg, pissed like hell, yelled at the top of his voice head-butting the ring on Adrien's finger. 'Ten thousand years of peace and then you just barge in and break it! It was my home!'

Tikki tried to rub soothing circles on the black cat's back. 'Plagg, you're not a genie, for heaven's sake. Calm down.'

'Just let me in, you stupid thing!' the little god was boiling with rage and frustration. Yet no amount of hollering, complaining, head-butting and threats could make the ring let Plagg inside again. No matter how many times Adrien cried 'Plagg, claws out!' the miraculous stayed Plagg-proof, granting access only to Tikki after Ladybug's incantation.

The same went for the earrings. They were not letting the red sprite in anymore, responding only to Plagg now whenever Marinette uttered the spell summoning black cat's transformation.

The heroes were seated on the chaise, looking infinitely dumbfounded and guilty. When they de-transformed it all seemed like a really good joke. It took some time for them to stop giggling and listed to Plagg's accusations. It was easy to ignore his rant, he did that a lot and about just anything. But when Tikki responded with concern and anxiety they finally got the message. It was serious. Very, very serious.

Somehow each miraculous got blocked. Tikki speculated it had something to do with disrupting quantum signatures. The memory of the miraculouses got wiped out and overwritten the moment wrong kwami entered the jewels.

There was nothing they could do by themselves, thus it was decided to seek out Master Fu's advice the next day. In the meantime the afternoon turned into evening and Adrien's car pulled over the bakery to drive him home.

The final conundrum was the sudden kwami incompatibility. Marinette was no longer compatible with Tikki, as now only Plagg could enter her miraculous. Technically she was also no longer Ladybug, but this was a secondary problem. In order to transform into a hero, she needed Plagg. And if Adrien was to keep the ability to change into Laddiebug, he needed Tikki with him.

'We need to swap holders, Tikki,' Plagg pointed out, exasperated and acid at the turn of events.

'It seems so, yes,' the red kwami agreed. It was the only logical conclusion. 'Hopefully Master Fu will sort it out tomorrow and all will go back to normal.' She sighed. She liked Adrien a lot, he was a really nice boy. But even though Marinette was her charge for only a couple of months, she still was Tikki's Chosen. The red sprite grew accustomed to the girl and loved her with all of her tiny kwami heart. They were a good team and good friends. Tikki was saddened to leave Marinette with the grumpy old sourpuss that went by the name of Plagg. But there was no other choice and no time to spare as Adrien's bodyguard was already knocking on the bakery door. Tikki bid her goodbye nuzzling Marinette's cheek and hid in Adrien's pocket.

'Good night, guys!' Adrien gave Marinette a half-hug and then hesitantly leaned forward to peck her lightly on the cheek. She blushed of course, but Adrien's face wasn't really any better. Then the boy patted Plagg on the head and waved a finger in front of his nose. 'I want you to be on your best behavior, Plagg,' he warned the black kwami.

'I don't know what you're getting at,' the little cat sneered. 'I'm always on my best behavior.'

'You know what I mean,' Adrien lowered his voice. 'No nagging about cheese, no wangling any cheese and no eating cheese in bed either!'

Marinette shuddered at that. 'Ewww! He really does that?!'

'Shame on you, Plagg,' Tikki scolded her partner.

'Okay, okay, I will behave, I promise.' Plagg grumbled. 'Happy now?'

'I will be, when I get you back, buddy,' Adrien stroked the little cat one last time, and left. When the trapdoor closed after him the black sprite released a resigned sigh and plopped himself on top of Marinette's phone.

'Well, I hope you remember how it was like before the goddess of luck appeared in your life, because let me tell you girl, with this god of misfortune you're in for a treat,' he muttered.

Marinette decided to show him some positive attitude. Maybe it would cheer him up a bit.

'Oh, I'm sure everything will be all right. It's not like we have an akuma to fight, right?' she chirped happily. As soon as those words left her mouth Plagg felt his butt vibrate. He flew up and read the notification on the phone.

'Well guess what, missy, no such luck!' he snorted pointing at the screen where the words "Ladyblog: Akuma alert" flashed in red font.

* * *

 _AN: Please, let me know, if you liked it? This author really appreciates your comments, favs and follows and really likes to know what you think!_ _All this keeps the chapters coming ;)_

 _Edit: many thanks to 1412kk and Vivian Gray who were so kind to point out the correct (and decent) spelling of female Chat. As I don't know French I wasn't aware of the meaning of 'double female' wording. I'm sorry if I've made some of you uncomfortable. I didn't mean to._


	2. The luck of a black cat

_Author's Note: THANK YOU._

 _You've absolutely swept me off my feet with your reactions to this story! I still consider myself a beginner but you've made me feel over the moon!_

 _I hope you'll like the second chapter. Don't forget to let me know._

* * *

 **Chapter 2. The luck of a black cat**

 _ladyblog .fr_

 _entry: Sunday, June 16_ _th_

 _author: Alya Cesaire_

 _type of entry: akuma attack_

 _date of occurrence: Saturday, June 15_ _th_

 _akuma: Party Pooper_

 _on scene: Ladybug, Chat Noir_

 _lucky charm: unknown_

 _source: anonymous_

 _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

 _Greetings Bugheads!_

 _Last night Paris endured another akuma attack boldly deflected by Ladybug and Chat Noir. Unfortunately this time yours truly had fallen victim to the Akuma's powers and had to rely fully on other reports. Due to the nature, but also time and place of the attack no footage is available. The action took place late in the evening and with poor light which made it practically impossible to register any video material._

 _The Akuma called themselves Party Pooper and turned out to be an annoyed neighbor who had to suffer through too many student parties recently. They were very keen on confiscating alcohol and their main power was the ability to put people to sleep. This power was also partly responsible for the lack of coverage as all the witnesses snoozed as soon as they were spotted by the Akuma (including your favorite blogger)._

 _The details of defeating Party Pooper are unknown, the only clear thing is that it took much longer than average, even though the Akuma didn't seem to posses any powers difficult to deflect. Without any direct reports it is impossible to speculate on the reasons of this turn of events._

 _Many thanks to anonymous users who provided the reports. Thank you for your contribution._

 _Stay connected!_

 _Alya Cesaire_

* * *

Marinette was slowly making her way to Master Fu's parlor, zombie style. She shambled, her shoulders hunched, with half-lidded eyes blinking constantly. She was yawning so wide that Plagg was expecting her jaw to fall off anytime.

'Oi, lass! Stop sleepwalking! You nearly hit that lamppost over there!' The black sprite hissed from her purse. He had yet to get over the fact that he was traveling in a pink girly bag reeking of chocolate chip, but Marinette refused to let him hide anywhere on herself.

'Stop nagging me, PlaaA-A-Aaagg.' The girl yawned in response. 'I'm sleeping,' she mumbled.

'It's nine o'clock. You should have been awake long time ago.' The little cat complained. 'Aren't you bakers' daughter? They're supposed to be up before dawn, you know.'

'Bakers – yes. Daughters – no.' Marinette snapped irritably. 'Daughters who happened to be fighting an Akuma half of the night – definitely not.' She muttered under her breath stopping just in time to avoid being ran over by a car.

'I heard that,' Plagg grumbled. 'And I saw that too. Watch it, girl. I don't want to become marmalade at my age.'

'Everything is under control,' Plagg's current charge mumbled.

'Yeah, right. Like you had it under control last night?' The black cat chuckled.

Marinette stopped and turned to her purse, deadpanned. 'We've agreed to never talk about last night again.'

Plagg sent her a shit-eating grin and was about to retort, when she drawled in a low growl. 'Unless…' The kwami gulped seeing her hitherto sleepy eyes narrowing in defiance, 'Unless you want to go on camembert-free diet. Indefinitely.'

Adrien had threatened Plagg many times with camembert withdrawal but he never had the guts to actually do it, despite all Plagg's shenanigans. So the kwami had learned to ignore such threats. But now looking into Marinette's piercing blue stare he could feel it in his millennia old bones that this was a force to be reckoned with.

The black cat put on his most innocent smile and chirped. 'Last night? I was fast asleep and snoring all the way!'

'That's better,' the girl replied and resumed her stroll towards Master Fu's.

Plagg's attention span, just like any other cat's wasn't exactly long. He got bored pretty quickly.

'Why isn't Adrien joining us?' He asked when he couldn't take the dull sleepy silence anymore. 'What "family emergency" could he have?'

Marinette sighed heavily. What she would give for Adrien to be there with her. Not 24 hours in Plagg's company and she was already fighting the urge to bite his head off. She tried to be understanding and optimistic, but he wasn't making it easy and after having lousy four hours of sleep frankly she stopped caring.

'Adrien couldn't come because his father requested his presence.' She finally replied.

'Ah, probably another photoshoot or a fitting,' Plagg nodded knowingly.

'Not really,' Marinette's lips curled into a mild smile. 'Apparently Mr. Agreste wanted to spend some quality time with him this Sunday. They were supposed to eat brunch together and then maybe watch a movie or two, play some board games, that kind of thing.'

'Now you're just pulling my leg, lassie,' the black kwami risked a glance from the purse, checking out the sky for flying pigs. 'That kind of thing never happens.'

'It happened today,' the girl shrugged. 'Better late than never, I guess. Adrien really needed that so today we're on our own.'

With that Marinette finally stopped at the front door to the massage parlor. She was about to knock when her gaze fell on a note pinned to the frame.

'Come inside, girl. We haven't got all day,' Plagg chided her from the bag. 'I need to stretch my paws and get some rest from that chocolate bug reek.'

'Master Fu is away.' She said slowly.

'What do you mean he's away?!' Plagg discreetly flew out of his hideout to look at the note himself.

'A trip to China. Family matters,' The girl explained.

'I told you so! The luck of the black cat strikes again!' The little cat muttered ominously pointing an accusatory paw at his replacement charge.

'Plagg, be reasonable. Me and Adrien are in this together.' Marinette tried to calm her kwami down. 'Shouldn't Laddiebug's luck cancel my bad luck?'

'Theoretically,' he replied gravely.

'What do you mean?' she asked carefully.

'I mean,' Plagg mocked her tone, 'he's not here now, is he?'

'Come on. I refuse to believe it works this way,' Plagg's current Chosen snorted. 'You're trying to tell me that if Adrien was here Master Fu wouldn't go to China?!'

'Maybe…' the black sprite replied quietly.

'Maybe?' the girl choked.

Little green eyes were watching her impudently. 'Ever heard of Schrödinger's cat?'

Marinette battered her lashes and asked sweetly, 'Is he a relative?'

* * *

 _ladyblog .fr_

 _entry: Monday, June 17_ _th_

 _author: Alya Cesaire_

 _type of entry: akuma attack_

 _date of occurrence: Monday, June 17_ _th_

 _akuma: Monday Blues_

 _on scene: Ladybug, Chat Noir (eventually)_

 _lucky charm: unknown_

 _source: anonymous, statement by Prefecture de Police_

 _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

 _Greetings Bugheads!_

 _New week kicked off with another night time akuma. It seems Hawk Moth finally realized that moths are nocturnal. Although last night showed that neither bugs nor cats are, the latter being somewhat surprising._

 _Like last time not many details are known, the occurrence taking place well after midnight with few witnesses, poor light and high above any observation points._

 _Our sources reported that this time Ladybug arrived at the scene much earlier, with Chat Noir joining her for the final encounter, but providing next to no support. A witness stated the battle was probably a difficult one as Ladybug stumbled over her feet and many of her yoyo throws missed their targets, which should be probably chalked up to lack of night-vision. Chat Noir who is known to aid the heroine in such circumstances arrived extremely late, tired and in an uncharacteristically snappish mood._

 _Most of the battle took place above rooftops and the heroes left right after depositing the unlucky akuma victim in capable hands of police officers._

 _As usual a huge thank you to our anonymous informants. Thank you for your contribution._

 _Stay connected!_

 _Alya Cesaire_

* * *

Nino, Alya, Marinette and Adrien sat on a bench in the school yard. Marinette had curled into a little ball of crying mess and trembled slightly from time to time, constantly emitting silent sobs. Adrien was at her side and doing his best to comfort the girl. He tried rubbing circles round her back despite Nino's inquisitive stares.

Alya sat at the other side of her best friend, staring ahead. She was also shaking a little, her pupils still dilated from previous adrenaline boost. The redhead was taking deep breaths to calm herself down, while Nino patted her hand.

Apart from sobs and breaths the girls kept quiet. The boys exchanged worried glances over their heads.

Finally Alya regained her speech enough to splutter in Marinette's direction. 'Are you trying to get yourself killed?!'

There was a whimper from Marinette in response and Adrien doubled his efforts at calming his almost-girlfriend down. He shot Alya a warning stare, but she didn't notice, apparently still recalling the horrible scene that took place just a few minutes earlier while she continued her rant.

'I mean, yeah, we know you're clumsy and unfocused but this was big even for you!' the blogger shook her head and turned to her friend.

Marinette shrunk even more into herself. Adrien gave up with keeping up the appearances and tried to hug her. Nobody cared – all eyes trained on Marinette.

Meanwhile Alya reached the boiling point. 'It was a freaking bus!' She burst out. 'How the hell could you not see it coming at you?!'

'That's enough, Alya!' Adrien interrupted any further scolding. 'Let's calm down a bit, okay? It was just wrong place and wrong time.' He said in what he hoped was a conciliatory tone. Right now he was fighting the urge to throw his good manners out of the window and just claw Alya like a cat he had been up until recently.

Nino, picking up on the warning growl at the back of Adrien's throat, immediately backed his friend up. 'Yeah, dude. It was just an extreme case of bad luck, is all.'

At that Marinette gave a snort, her head still hidden between her arms. For Nino's ears it sounded suspiciously close to a hiss.

'And,' Nino continued, now slightly uneasy, 'in fact you were lucky Adrien was there. He pulled you out of the way at the last second. That's what I call a stroke of luck, dude,' the boy pointed out. He thought he was being helpful so he was totally taken aback by his friends' reactions.

Because Alya facepalmed, Adrien groaned while Marinette…

Marinette's head emerged slowly from between her shoulders in an almost predatory motion. She casted Adrien a murderous look, her eyes narrowed to slits. The girl released an uncomfortably low rumble and stormed in the direction of the locker room leaving the three of her friends startled and gaping.

* * *

 _ladyblog .fr_

 _entry: Wednesday, June 19_ _th_

 _author: Alya Cesaire_

 _type of entry: akuma attack_

 _date of occurrence: Tuesday, June 18_ _th_

 _akuma: unknown_

 _on scene: Ladybug, Chat Noir_

 _lucky charm: a cheesecake (unused)_

 _source: Alya Cesaire_

 _. . . . . . . . . . . . . . ._

 _Greetings Bugheads!_

 _Another nighttime akuma showed up on Tuesday evening, courtesy of our most hated super villain.  
I thinks it's safe to say that there seem to be a shift in business hours for Hawk Moth. But it's not the only thing that's new. _

_It became obvious that Ladybug and Chat Noir are dealing with some sort of a crisis. As evidenced in last few attacks their teamwork is lacking, their abilities seem to be crippled and the morale is falling. They are still capable enough to bring down the akumatized villains, but they take more time and end up more frustrated than ever._

 _Last night only confirmed this trend. Once again the fight took much longer than average, although within the parameters of the last few encounters. Witnesses, who like yours truly were able to observe the fight only from afar, claim that Ladybug had some difficulties in handling her weapon, as she kept tangling herself and sometimes also her partner in her own yoyo. The battle was resolved without any need to apply Lucky Charm, as Chat Noir knocked out the Akuma with a powerful and unexpected throw of his baton, which seemed to be a surprise for himself as well as for Ladybug._

 _After Miraculous Cure was released and the damage reverted the heroes once again left in a great hurry, making it impossible to obtain a comment from them._

 _One can speculate that the behavior described above might have been a result of the increase in the frequency of attacks and their timing. Apparently Hawk Moth's strategy to wear the heroes down has been successful._

 _Let's hope Ladybug and Chat Noir get some chance to rest and will be better prepared next time. The enemy is definitely feeling the summer in the air. We haven't seen anything like that before._

 _Stay connected!_

 _Alya Cesaire_

 _Note: The pictures and videos are of poor quality due to huge distance between my position and the fight._

* * *

As soon as the bell rang to lunch break Adrien turned in his seat to address all three of his friends.

'Guys! You wanna hang out this Friday at my place?' he asked excitedly. 'I was hoping you didn't have any plans yet?'

'I thought you had a photoshoot,' Marinette replied grumpily, resting her head on her desk between her folded arms. She'd been showing them a lot of her grouchy side the whole week. Adrien was hoping that his idea to hang out would cheer her up a bit. Clearly something was plaguing her thoughts, and the boy had a very strong suspicion as to what, or rather who was responsible.

'Yeah, not really,' the boy said rubbing the back of his head nervously. 'That got cancelled.'

'What?' Nino burst out. 'Dude, it's a third one in a row! That never happens!'

'It has happened now,' Adrien said with a bashful smile.

'And you're allowed to bring friends to the mansion?' Marinette asked, disbelief dripping from every word.

'Well. Father is in Milan and when Nathalie asked him, he kind of agreed,' her hopeful almost boyfriend admitted with a chuckle. 'I believe he said "Fine, as long as I can't hear them in here. But make sure the house is still there when I get back."'

This earned him a chortle from Nino. 'Bro, since when are you so lucky?'

Adrien shrugged, carefully ignoring a bloodthirsty glare from Marinette.

* * *

 _ladyblog .fr_

 _[*live stream video: Alya Cesaire*]_

 _Hi, Bugheads! Alya here! Liveblogging from the very center of action!_

 _I'm at the scene while Ladybug and Chat Noir are approaching the Akuma. This is insane! He's shooting them with some sort of magical bullets or something. And all this mist came out of nowhere! I can't really see it clearly from here but I'm gonna try to get a better view, so stay tuned for the huge scoop to come! Whoo-_

 _[*live stream video froze*]_

 _._

 _._

' –psie... Shoot!' Alya dropped her phone when it got hit with a bullet. She suddenly realized she got herself directly into the firing line. Not good. She wasn't particularly eager to test the theory that if someone got killed as a result of the akuma attack, Miraculous Cure would bring them back. But on the other hand she was determined to get to the bottom of the strange behavior displayed lately by the heroes.

Suddenly she felt strong but slender arm at her waist and in the next second she was lifted off the ground and onto the nearest rooftop. Someone was holding her tightly pressed back-to-chest and running for cover. That someone, Alya realized, was no other than Chat Noir. But something was off about him.

Alya wasn't ashamed to admit that she often got herself into trouble with akumas. That was a risk every student at Françoise Dupont was exposed to, as this collège was apparently Hawk Moth's favorite recruiting point (not to mention Chloé's unintended yet constant efforts to support his case). It actually turned out to be a perk for Alya – the founder and blogger of the famous Ladyblog. The fearless and, let's be honest – unimaginative when it came to judging risks – redhead usually rushed after the Akumas with her phone at the ready, not caring in the slightest about her own safety, but always anxious to capture the biggest scoop. This was the reason she was quite accustomed to being saved by either Ladybug or Chat Noir and she prided herself on knowing the duo better than any other journalist or blogger could. So when Alya sensed something was wrong with Chat Noir, she had every reason to believe it was a fact.

Although apparently still in possession of super strength, the black clad hero seemed to be smaller than at their previous close encounter. His hands were definitely downsized and slimmer too. And when Alya started to register other differences she realized that although Chat seemed to shrunk in height there were a few places where there was considerably more of him – like for example in the chest regions that Alya was currently being pressed to. Suddenly she felt very uncomfortable despite the unexpected softness of the aforementioned regions.

Chat Noir slowed down as the sounds of the battle ceased and after a flash of light the swarms of ladybugs started swishing through the air around them. For a moment Alya thought that maybe they would change Chat back into his previous shape, but then she remembered that the last akuma didn't have such powers to alter people's appearance. Her journalist streak immediately smelled a rat.

The girl was gently deposited on the rooftop, while Chat turned his back to her and looked in the direction in which the ladybugs disappeared. There was a familiar swoosh of a yoyo and Ladybug joined them.

'You okay?' She asked, panting heavily. Alya felt an unpleasant shiver down her spine at how low Ladybug's voice was. Even with a sore throat it shouldn't be possible for her to sound like that.

'Yes!' Chat Noir squeaked in reply as Ladybug approached him and pulled him in for a hug. The feline hero hugged her back, but quickly whispered in her ear, 'We've got company.'

The red clad heroine immediately pulled away, looking at her ring which just gave the first warning.

Wait, her ring?!

Now the blogger finally started paying careful attention to the details and catalogued anything she found.

Ladybug didn't have her trademark pigtails anymore. Her hair changed in style, color and length. She had a ring on her right hand. And she was definitely taller and less curvy than Alya remembered, but instead she somehow gained broader and heftier shoulders that instantly brought a blush to the redhead's cheeks. Gaping the girl turned her gaze to Chat…

… who had traded his blond mane for midnight-blue pigtails held with green ribbons and his right hand was lacking a ring. Alya immediately looked at Chat's ears only to discover black earrings with green paw-print adorning them. Chat's hips had become pleasantly curved and his chest... apparently got equipped with two very nice breasts, heaving under the black suit as Chat tried not to hyperventilate at Alya's impromptu comparative study. Ladybug, her face matching her suit in color, was doing her best not to ogle her partner and failing spectacularly.

The blogger once again surveyed the scene before voicing her conclusion, 'What the hell?!'

Ladybug flashed her a toothy grin, 'Summer exchange?' she ventured in a delightful tenor.

* * *

 _AN: Let me just remind you – this author really appreciates your follows, favs, comments and laughs. They keep the chapters coming!_


	3. A Piece of That

_Author's Note: Now that's what I call a New Year's surprise! I haven't updated this story in 18 months! And today I woke up and thought... why not?_

 _Sorry for any mistakes and typos, this hasn't been beta read._

 _One more detail - in the prequel of this story Adrien saved the day as his civilian self while wearing a Ladybug costume, and there's a paragraph that refers to that._

 _Now without further ado... enjoy!_

* * *

 **Chapter 3. A Piece of That**

On Friday Adrien decided to walk Marinette to school. If anyone asked him, it was purely a friends thing. Adrien was simply worried about Marinette's constant late arrivals, which admittedly got even worse in the last week. He couldn't blame her – not only that Laddiebug and Chat Noire had to learn new powers, develop new battle dynamics, but also Hawk Moth released an akuma every freaking night, apparently bent on wearing them out.

Well, so far he was succeeding. Marinette was dead on her feet when they shuffled to school and Adrien was holding himself together only by sheer power of his father's secret coffee, that spread a pleasant warmth over his veins. He was officially forbidden not only to taste but even to smell that brew. If it wasn't for Tikki who snitched him a cup, he probably would just sleep while standing. The dear kwami had also managed to nip some beans that would be useful later in the day. Just one sniff could make a tired teen last an hour. The boy had yet to witness Plagg being as helpful as his replacement red friend.

It was very nice to be at the bakery this early in the morning. Marinette's father slipped a bag with two croissants into Adrien's hand, patting him affectionately over the shoulder, and Marinette's mother followed with a hug and a few chocolate chip cookies. The boy could feel Tikki wriggling inside his messenger bag, undoubtedly eager to dip her teeth in the treat. His house wasn't exactly stocked up on cookies and those available at the mansion didn't even come close to Dupain-Chengs' pastries.

After getting properly provisioned the boy was ushered into the living room, while Sabine went to fetch the least morning person in the household (well, she didn't know about Plagg). Soon Marinette emerged from the attic and Adrien could only stare with a mixture of awe and shock.

The awe part was making his stomach do little somersaults at the sight of Snow White descending upon him from heaven, with a small smile and fresh coat of pink on her cheeks. She didn't have her trademark pigtails, but let her hair loose. It nicely framed her pale face spilling to her shoulders and Adrien immediately balled his hands into fists fighting the urge to touch that glossy veil that seemed so nicely smooth.

The shock part came full force on him, when Marinette sent him a bashful look from under her dark lashes and tilted her head up giving him full view of the black eye decorating the left side of her face, clear as day despite the generously applied concealer. It was placed just where the mask would cover it, so no wonder Laddiebug hadn't noticed anything last night. When had this happened?

* * *

Marinette was just enjoying her half-asleep state, while sitting on a bench with her head on Adrien's shoulder when Alya's cheerful voice made her wake up with a painful jerk. It was definitely too early to be that cheerful.

'Good morning!' the redhead chirped as her and Nino joined the duo on the bench.

'Morning? Yes. Good? Debatable.' Marinette muttered and she could swear she heard Plagg rolling his eyes between her books (he decided her little purse was too small and too pink to be comfortable, the lazy cat, and moved into the backpack, complaining about its color of course).

'Hey. What's with the black eye?' her friend asked casting an anxious look at the brunette's face.

'Oh,' Marinette blinked the sleep away from her eyes trying desperately to remember the excuse she had thought of earlier. 'I was, I was… ' she casted a panicky stare at Adrien but he was just as startled as her. '- I was ripping seams. Yes. I was ripping seams from a skirt I've been working on last night and I accidentally hit myself.'

Was that plausible? She was saving that excuse for a really nasty bruise just like the one she was sporting right now. It _could have been_ one of those rubber bullets from the last-night akuma. Why-oh-why couldn't it be a bullet? Marinette would gladly take a rubber bullet in the head right now to spare her the humiliation as she heard a tiny voice snickering in her backpack.

' _Yeah. And it totally wasn't Chat's staff accidentally elongating itself after someone pressed the wrong button.'_

The girl vigorously kicked the side of the backpack and was satisfied with a muffled yelp followed by indignant silence.

At the same time Adrien noticed doubtful look Alya sent his way and it made him feel obliged to back Marinette up. 'Yeah. I was there. That was a pretty nasty blow,' he rubbed the back of his head and hissed when his fingers hit the yoyo inflicted bruise from yesterday. Marinette flashed him a compassionate smile.

'Who would have thought sewing is such a dangerous hobby,' the redhead replied glaring skeptically at the two of them.

Marinette and Adrien unconsciously drew closer together as if it could shield them from Alya's scrutiny. When she cocked her brow at the movement, they noticed what they'd done and sprang away mumbling apologies for invading each other's personal space. This brought the levels of flushed awkwardness to nearly lethal so Alya took pity on them.

'Nevermind,' she said putting on her best blogger smile. 'Guys, have I got a scoop for you!'

Soon the three of them drowned in Alya's revelations about last night's battle. Adrien and Marinette didn't even have to fake interest as they both were curious how the blogger would react to her discovery.

'Babe, this is great!' Nino, ever the supportive boyfriend, enthused, not noticing frowns from the other two listeners. 'Why haven't you put any of it on the Ladyblog yet? I'm sure this would blow up the internet!'

'It totally would,' Alya agreed. 'But sadly I don't have anything to prove it. At first I couldn't get close enough and then I lost my phone just before Chat saved me.'

'So… what do you think about this strange turn of events?' Adrien asked carefully.

'Well…' the redhead scratched her chin. 'Now I know why they were acting differently all this week. They literally weren't themselves,' she quipped with a wink and Marinette cringed at the sight.

'How do they look?' Nino encouraged her to keep talking.

'It's like they just exchanged suits, so pretty much the same, although…' she trailed off, a coat of pink coloring her cheeks, 'I must say that Chat Noire absolutely rocks the dom look,' she whispered as Marinette choked on her own saliva, while Adrien felt the heat crawling from his neck up at his own memories of the past week. He managed a weak chuckle, but it soon turned into a gabble when the blogger added almost dreamily. 'And you should definitely see that Laddiebutt.'

' _Excuse me?!_ ' They were startled by a shriek. No one noticed when Chloe and Sabrina got so close to them, obviously eavesdropping. 'What did you just say?!'

Alya squared her shoulders and set her jaw. 'That Laddiebug has a great Laddiebutt,' she replied acidly. 'Why do you ask?'

'Laddie _butt_? I mean _Laddie_ bug?!' Chloe spluttered. 'Why are you insulting Ladybug?! You- you- sc-' she stopped herself just in time to avoid the swear word spilling from her mouth. 'How can _you_ of all people say things like that!'

'Because it's the truth,' Alya shrugged. 'You'll see soon enough. _Ladybug-is-a-guy-now!_ ' she sing-sung mocking the blond girl, while all three of her friends cringed.

* * *

Chloe's fit of hysterics required her to return home earlier and was the most entertaining event of the whole week. Soon the lessons were over and Adrien was about to lead three of his friends into his limo to start on the first official hang-out at the mansion. The prospect of pizza, gaming and binging titles from Adrien's huge library of series and films had effectively wiped out the memories of Chloe's indignant shrieks that had rang in their ears all morning.

Yet there was something else that was still stuck in Alya's recollections of the morning scene. Her journalist instincts flashed in alarm as she watched her best friend and her blond crush. They were hiding something for sure, and Alya was crawling out of her skin from the moment she realized what that might have been.

The Ladyblogger cast one last look at Marinette and Adrien chatting in the locker room. The boy leaned into the girl's personal space too much for it to look casual, and not for the first time. He'd been doing a lot of that lately. He always had trouble with broadcasting misleading non-verbal signals, but all those hugs, touches and looks he'd been showering Marinette with were quite surprisingly rubbing Alya the wrong way. Maybe it was because of how her bestie was acting too? She wasn't her normal bubbly self anymore, as if someone put her under something very heavy, that deflated her. Up until recently Mari never had been sarcastic, snappish, grumpy, tired, aching and bruised. _Bruised_. Alya pondered about those symptoms and Adrien's sudden affection towards Marinette. It would appear that his behavior was supposed to cheer the girl up, but what if his attention wasn't the answer, but the cause?

She caught Nino's elbow as the four of them exited school. Adrien stopped next to his friend, but Alya just cast him a charming smile.

'Go ahead and get to the car,' she nodded in the direction of Gorilla, who was already opening the door for them. 'I need a word with Nino in private and we'll be joining you in seconds, okay?'

Adrien shrugged and offered Marinette his arm. Nino eyed his girlfriend suspiciously.

She decided to cut straight to the point. 'Did you notice how Marinette looked at Adrien when she was telling us about the black eye?' she asked.

Nino scratched his chin. 'Yeah. So what?'

Alya took a deep breath and got the sentence out before she would change her mind. 'Do you think he hit her?'

Nino went from zero into full yowl in one second. 'I think you need to have your head examined, babe,' he chortled. 'This is Marinette we're talking about. If anyone could give themselves a black eye it would be Marinette.'

Alya was torn between shame and relief, as she eyed the pair boarding Adrien's car. 'Yeah, you're probably right,' she sighed.

Marinette didn't really look uncomfortable with Adrien, even if she sometimes seemed angry with him for some obscure reason, she actually made much progress. If someone had told Alya two weeks ago, that she'd soon see Marinette giving Adrien a murderous glare, or snap at him, she would dismiss it as impossible.

And yet here she was watching her best friend giving Adrien a peck on the check, to which he replied with a tender brush of his thumb over her hand. He brought it up to plant a delicate kiss on her knuckles, his lips lingering a little bit longer than what would be considered a proper hand kiss. His hand went to her waist as he helped her to her seat and for a moment Marinette's eyes fluttered shut with the most content smile Alya had ever seen on her friend's face.

'I am,' Nino put a hand around her shoulders as he led her to the car. 'But don't feel bad. She's your best friend. Of course you keep an eye on her. That's sweet, babe,' he kissed her hair. 'And smart, considering what Bustier told us about home violence.'

Alya turned to her boyfriend. 'Thanks,' she planted a kiss on his cheek. 'You're sweet too, you know?'

* * *

Only when the four of them were seated in front of a selection of steaming pizzas Adrien realized, it would have been a much better idea to actually order it somewhere else that at his kitchen. Instead of pepperoni, margherita or other honest and regular taste their plates were full of exotic combinations of ingredients. Alya eyed them suspiciously.

'Is that pineapple?' she asked with distaste.

'Is that camembert?' Nino prodded a piece.

Adrien forgot that he had requested for his pizza selection to always include some camembert. But he never had been the one to actually eat it.

To their surprise Marinette's hand shot out and took over the plate. The girl bit into the cheesy pizza with gusto.

'Wha-?' she asked around her mouthful. 'U –an –hom?' she pointed to the table. '-elp –urslvs.'

'Nah, thanks,' Nino waved at her. 'Anchois looks more edible.'

Marinette was absentmindedly munching on her pizza and discreetly slipping chunks of it into her backpack, while Alya gushed over the heroes for what had to be like a hundredth time that day wondering why they had swapped their costumes and powers and why were they hiding it. She was in a very peculiar mood, one that Adrien would like to avoid at all costs. Alas there was nothing he could do but to brace himself for the endless teasing as Alya seemed to feed of their embarrassment.

'I wouldn't mind spotting Laddiebug alone if you catch my drift,' she nudged Marinette under the ribs.

Her friend shot her a startled look while Nino choked on his pizza. Adrien rushed to pat his back.

'Relax, babe,' Alya guffawed. 'This is my celebrity freebie, remember?' She winked at him. 'Maybe I just have a thing for spots?' she mused out loud completely unabashed. 'But I wouldn't mind playing with his yoyo.'

She was rewarded with an outburst of Marinette's cough. Nino shot her a sympathetic look.

Alya totally unperturbed, pouted at them. 'But sadly, I don't stand a chance,' she sighed theatrically.

'Why?' Nino squeaked.

'There is no doubt,' Alya announced in a serious tone, although her eyes twinkled with mischief, 'that Laddiebug is still into Chat.'

Adrien felt the heat rising to his cheeks, as the redhead continued. 'You should have seen how he ogled her yesterday.'

This time it was the blond's turn to choke. Alya was onto him in an instant.

'Is something the matter, Agreste?' she chirped sweetly. 'Not so much of a Ladybug fan anymore? More of a baton guy now, I guess?'

Adrien and Marinette snorted in unison, sprinkling their plates with crumbs.

'Alya!' Nino narrowed his eyes. 'I think that's enough, babe.'

'Okay, okay,' Alya chuckled. 'I'm done with the innuendos, I promise.' She wiped an amused tear from her eye. 'As much fun it is to see you all so flustered, I really don't want you to die so young.'

At that moment the door to Adrien's room opened and one of the cooks appeared with another plate.

'Chef had this prepared especially for you, young sir,' the man bowed putting the pizza in front of Adrien. 'He was very impressed with your heroic act during the LadyNoir akuma. We all saw the picture,' he gestured to the desk, where Adrien had put a gift from Alya. A framed photo of two Ladybugs, that she took right after the battle at Chloe's party.

Everyone's eyes turned to the plate. The pizza was very red, generously covered in tomato sauce, with black clusters of olives sprinkled on top. The pattern was embarrassingly familiar.

Adrien's face went as red as the pizza. Marinette and Nino stifled a laugh, while Alya totally forgetting what she had just promised clasped her hands together and cried in glee.

'Oooh, I definitely want a piece of that!'

* * *

 _AN: As always, please leave a few words in the review box. I am always happy when you do that._

 _I have no idea when next update might come. January already looks extremely busy for me, and other WIPs and matters demand my attention. But know, that I am definitely not abandoning this story._

 _If you want to make sure not to miss any fics from me, follow my profile or follow my tumblr blog: perditaalottachocolate-blog . tumblr . com . Useful tags: "perdita writes" for my fics and "perdita draws" for my art. My askbox is open too!_

 _Confession time. It is totally possible to give oneself an accidental black eye. I did that to myself a few times with carefree usage of book case doors. Didn't notice they were opened at my head's height and smacked myself so hard I saw tiny flying cats. But if you see black eyes and bruises on someone especially a child more often than reasonable, take interest. It may be an indication of home violence. But in case of children in can also be a case of undetected or misdiagnosed problems. For example with sight or with muscle tension. My kid suffers from the latter problem and despite her best efforts she's constantly tripping over her own feet and loses balance easily. Three to five visible bruises is a norm for us. And we're dealing with her problems._

 _That's why I'm utterly grateful for Marinette's trademark clumsiness - she's my kid's hero. Despite being clumsy she still becomes Ladybug._

 _All credit for ripping seams excuse goes to bullysquades and her awesome fic "The Ladybugs and the Bees"_


End file.
